Final Sea-lection . . .
. . . the journey north





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Many Thanks

27 August 2010

I want to thank everybody who supported Final Sea-lection's to Ludington, MI. It was an interesting journey to say the least.  I met a lot of great people who helped out a lot. Special thanks to all the people who donated their time by being crew members - Nancy and Dick Specht, Roger Clark, my sister Karen, my sister in-law Mary and, of course, my darling wife ( she now is the boat's lucky charm). Note: nothing went wrong when she finally got on the boat in Alton, Il. (I think the boat knew it better perform or it was history).

 

There were many others that greatly contributed to make this trip successful like the following people:

Marie - joining us in Bradenton Beach and letting us use her car to get supplies and parts.

Matt - the manager at Demopolis Yacht Basin who serviced the boat and stored the boat for the winter.

Capt Bob, Myra and Peggy Sue - our travel companions/guides up the Mississippi River.

Randy Jacobs - who was giving us daily updates on his travels up the Mississippi and Illinois River two days ahead of us.

Robert and Patty Mitchell – Looper harbor hosts who lent us their vehicle to get parts and supplies for the boat as well as check on us to see that we were okay.

Fran - Alton Marina Manager who helped find someone to clean the port fuel tank

Port Charles Marina - who cleaned out the port fuel tank of its junk in record time so that we could keep pushing to Ludington last week.

Rod and Joe - the mechanics from Guarantee Auto & Marine, that saved us on the Mississippi River by getting the port engine back running and also solved the water leak on the generator.

 

Also thank you to all the people watching the website and calling us to give support and encouragement for a safe journey as well as a lot of prayers were said and answered.

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August 20, 2010

20 August 2010

Good Morning!  Thursday was a full cruising day.  The Captain let me sleep a little later due to the late night on Wednesday.  We did two locks; Starved Rock and Marseille and ended at mile 251 for the night.   The boat is running great.  Today we’re headed to Hammond, Indiana and Lake Michigan!!  We have 3 locks today, all relatively close together.  Captain has me pulling up anchor at 0630, so this will be short.  Tonight we’ll post some pictures.

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August 19, 2010

19 August 2010

Wednesday was a full and productive day of cruising.  Tuesday night we anchored at mile 38.0 on the Illinois River.   Wednesday morning we started out at 6:00 a.m. with the goal of making the Peoria Lock at mile 162, which is only open from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.   Wednesday morning was cool and overcast – we were actually putting clothes on!  Rich looked forward to the engine room checks.  By noon, we caught up to the sun and it was a beautiful day.  The river had minimal debris and Final Sea-lection hummed all day! 

We reached Peoria Lock at 7:30 p.m.  It was a parking lot of barges waiting for their turn.  The lock had only been operating for a couple of days, prior to which it was wide open.  The limited hours made for a bottle neck.   The lockmaster informed us that he would lock us through in about 40 minutes.  He had asked us where we were going.  I think he was afraid we were just going to Peoria for dinner and then coming back.  The Lockmaster was a little harried.  We assured him that we were Lake Michigan bound.  (I feel like those turtles or lemmings that travel a million miles to reach the sea)  Finally we were told that we would go in the lock after a barge came through with half its load and ride back with the tug.  By this time, it’s dark.  I don’t know how Captain Rich found the opening to that lock, but he did.  Luckily, we didn’t have to tie up in the lock, we just floated.  All this for a 3 foot lift!   On the other side of the lock were even more barges waiting.  Did I mention the bugs?   This morning Rich looks like a bug buffet.  So, anyway, we come out of the lock, its dark, and we need to find the city dock where we got permission to tie up.   At 10:00 p.m. we tied up and was done for the day.  Beer never tasted sooo good!   Average cruising speed on Wednesday was 9.8 mph. 

This morning (Thursday) it’s calm and sunny.  It’s going to be a warm day.

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August 17, 2010

17 August 2010

We are sitting at the Port Charles Harbor Marina in MO -  http://www.portcharlesharbor.com/.  We weren't able to get the port fuel tank pumped out in Alton.  Port Charles is pumping the tank right now.  They're on the fourth barrel.  Rich has taken the courtesy car to buy a temperature reading device - his disappeared yesterday. Once the tank is emptied, it will be washed out and refilled.  Gunk-b-gone will be added to the new fuel.  If all goes well, we'll be on our way by early afternoon.  We just have to back track a little to get on the Illinois River.   Rich has found a couple of anchorages that will work for tonight.  Captain Bob, wife Myra and cat Peggy Sue, left Alton on Sunday morning to continue their trip North.  Capt. Bob called yesterday to report a lock that is only open from 5pm-7am.  We hope to catch that lock at 5pm tomorrow night.  It is still quite warm, but the humidity has broken.

We got to Port Charles last night about 6:00 p.m. their time.  It's a good size marina and every slip is full, but there wasn't a soul around last night.  tt was a little eary.  This morning there is plenty of activity in the service department but still no one is on their boat.   The folks here are very accommodating.

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August 15, 2010

15 August 2010

Hello!  Today is Sunday and Final Sea-lection is in the marina at Alton, Illinois, about a 30 minute drive from St. Louis.  I (Suzy) arrived in Alton last night and Karen is driving home now.   To get you caught up on the trip, Rich and Karen lost the use of an engine on Thursday while traveling to Hoppies Marina in Kimmswick, MO.  They made it to Hoppies just fine, but ended up spending Thursday and Friday night there.  Joe and Rod, marine mechanics from Alton, found the fuel injectors and hoses on the port fuel tank to be plugged.  After quite a project, they got everything cleaned up and the engine came to life.   This was a relief because the next call was going to be to Cummins in St. Louis. 

Rich and Karen made it to Alton on Saturday afternoon.  Everyone got a good night's sleep last night.  The air conditioning on the boat is working great - thank you Rich! Today is sunny and still quite humid.  The Alton Marina is quite a large marina with covered slips and many amenities; pool, cafe, convenience store, laundry, and nice shower facilities.  The Marina is within walking distance to downtown, which was hopping last night.  Alton is an interesting and good size town with everything you might need.  We ran errands this morning and went out for breakfast before Karen left.  Joe and Rod are back today to fix the generator.  It is believed to be in our best interest to have the fuel tank cleaned tomorrow morning, so today we are doing laundry, washing the boat and taking a little break.  The Mississippi River has been a stressful passage with the fast current and debris, due to recent flooding.

Hopefully, we will shove off by Noon on Monday.  We only have 16 miles left on the Mississippi, which Rich plans to cover as quickly as possible!  The Illinois River is reported to be more boater friendly and cleaner.   

Rich enjoyed Karen's company this past week and couldn't have asked for a better crew mate!  THANK YOU, KAREN!!!

Hoppies Marina, Kimmswick, MO
hoppies
An interesting house/yard at Kimmswick
kimmswick
St. Louis Arch
arch

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